Chapter Text
Korra sat on the park bench and sighed.
She liked Bolin. She liked Opal. The only problem was that hanging out with them made her perpetually feel like she was interrupting something. They had welcomed her presence, of course, but they were nice people.
Her eyes settle on the massive stone structure in front of her. Just one week here, and she absolutely adored Tokyo. She couldn’t speak any Japanese, couldn’t read Japanese, but it was all fine. Korra loved the thrill of the unknown. It would have been even better if she had someone to enjoy it with though. Maybe if Mako…Korra shook her head. What was she saying -- there was no way she was stepping back into that hellhole of a relationship. It was kind of Mako’s fault that she was here all alone though. It wasn’t bad, it was just less than ideal for her. She’d always imagined making this trip with someone by her side.
Korra sighed and looked at her watch. Perhaps she should head back. Bolin would be wondering where she had gotten to. They still had places to be.
“Here, look at this!” Bolin said, grabbing her arm. They were at a robot tech convention, where Bill Gates hopefuls came to show off their precious inventions. There were robots that gave hugs, robots that fetched you beer, robots that could jump hundreds of times its height with a small mounted camera. That one was ostensibly for the military. Or for perverts, Korra thought. She wasn’t that into tech, but she did need some new creative sparks for her contribution to the upcoming exhibition back home. And this seemed like a good place to start. Everywhere, the sales people were demonstrating the abilities of their product, exhorting its capabilities to the would-be buyers. It was a complete surprise to find a small island of calm in the sea of people.
Bolin was staring at a small booth where a short man was seated reading a newspaper. He looked as though he couldn’t be bothered with the both of them. The sign above the booth said ‘MAIL-ORDER GIRLFRIENDS’. Wait what? Korra took a closer look at the poster in English pasted on the wall.
“They claim they have an AI good enough mimic a girlfriend to tend to your every need. Or boyfriends actually,” Bolin said. “Tsk, sexist sign. Oooh, look at their builds. What are those digits! 35-27-25?” Bolin frowned.
“Aren’t you…not supposed to be into this stuff? You have a girlfriend.”
“Yes, but just because you have a Mac doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the professionalism and boring design that is the Windows,” Bolin said airily. Korra forgave him. He had just gotten his MacBook Air two weeks ago.
“Hello? Sir? How does this work?” Bolin asked the man. It was pretty pointless, because the man began speaking in rapid-fire Japanese. Bolin ‘hmmed’ and ‘yeah’ and nodded as though he understood. At the end of it all, the man shoved a flyer into Bolin’s hand. Bolin bowed and thanked the man.
“So, what did he say?” Korra asked. “I dunno,” Bolin shrugged. “Ooo look! Flying penguins!”
Korra toppled onto a chair. She groaned and stretched her back. Bolin burst through the door after her. “Opal! I bought supper!” He brandished a box of cold sushi. Curse him and his boundless energy. They had gotten dinner together after the exhibition had worn Korra down. Bolin was still going strong despite losing a wrestling match to a robot arm. Opal ran to hug him, squealing loudly. The floor behind them was piled with bags. Curse them and their boundless energy. Korra flopped onto her bed. The three of them had shelled out a little more for a private room in the hostel.
“C’mon, Korra, get up. We’re thinking of going out to hit some bars.” Bolin said as he stuffed his mouth with sushi.
Korra covered her eyes and waved. “Go on, go on without me,” Korra said.
Bolin pouted. “It won’t be half as fun without you!”
Korra mumbled and shook her head. Opal took pity on her. She grabbed Bolin’s arm. “Okay, Korra rest up! We have a full day tomorrow!” She pushed Bolin out of the door. “The rest of the sushi is yours!”
Since when did she get so old? She looked at her watch. It wasn’t even midnight and she was prepared to sleep. Korra huffed. She resolved to stay up at least to midnight. She stretched out on her bed. Just a short lie-down, and then she would wake up and check her email. Or watch some videos of cute cats. Or maybe she would finish the rest of the sushi. Korra yawned and her breathing evened out.
Dimly, she resurfaced to a loud ruckus. “No, don’t!” Opal was saying.
“I…am going to do it,” Bolin declared loudly. “She needs a bit of…excitement!”
“Not that sort of excitement!” Opal sounded mildly horrified.
“Darling, I’m her best friend. I know what she needs!”
Opal sighed and froze. “I think she’s awake.”
There was a short pause. Bolin tiptoed over to the bed. “Nah, Korra, go to sleep,” Bolin cooed. Korra wanted to reach over and smack him for talking to her like that, but she couldn’t be bothered. She turned and fell back into a dreamless sleep.
There was a loud knock on the door. Korra woke up groggily and clutched the blanket tightly, waiting for someone else to settle that problem. The rapping sound came again. She looked around. Bolin and Opal were sprawled on their beds, still fast asleep. Looks like it would be her. She dragged herself out of bed, undid the lock and opened the door.
Her jaw dropped. A gorgeous woman stood outside the door. She was taller than Korra, her jet black hair cascading down her back. Sparkling emerald eyes gazed into Korra’s and she smiled slightly. She flipped her hair back. “Hello.” Her voice was melodious and smooth. It sent shivers down Korra’s spine. Abruptly, Korra become aware of the fact that a) she was staring and b)she was in a polar bear print sweats and tank top. She shrank behind the shield of her door.
“Oh uh. Morning. Good. Yeah, hello.” Korra coughed. She decided the only to be functional was to look away from the woman’s face. Her gaze dropped, and then shot back up. She blushed furiously. No, that’s not any better. “Who are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for Korra? I was informed that this was the address to report to.”
Korra opened the door wider. “What’s this about?”
“Oh, I’m the bot you ordered? From Future Industries. I’m a SATO, Superlative Artificial Tetrapodal Operator. Prototype A” She bowed to Korra. Korra bowed clumsily back. “But you can call me Asami.”
“Who’s a what now? No offence, but I didn’t order anything," Korra said confused. "Did you just say bot?"
"Hang on,” the woman opened her palm and wrenched it open. Korra almost screamed. There was a smooth compartment in the hollow of her hand. Asami retrieved a piece of paper and unfolded it, swinging shut the lid with a metallic click.
“You’re a robot?” Korra whispered.
“Like I said, I’m a SATO. Here’s a copy of the receipt.” Printed on the top was their address, her name, and the last four digits of a credit card number for the deposit. She squinted. Korra recognized those digits.
“Bolin?!”
The three of them sat awkwardly on their beds staring at Asami. Korra was uncomfortably aware of Asami seated just a half a metre from her. She fidgeted.
“I may be wrong, but isn’t it rude to stare?” Asami said. In a flash, they averted their gaze.
“I haven’t even gotten your names. I’m Asami. You must be…”
“Opal,” Opal said. “This is Bolin.” Bolin was too busy staring at Asami to respond. She just seemed so human.
“And you’re Korra.” The way Asami said her name just made it roll of her tongue. Korra tried to control her shiver. Bolin’s computer sat on the bedside table between them. Korra scrolled through it.
“So you decided to fill out that twenty page application form on my behalf?” Korra asked.
Bolin rubbed his neck. “Wasn’t that difficult. They had it in English.”
“How do you even know this stuff?”
“Childhood best friend, remember?”
Korra read the form carefully. “Appearance, interests, sexual…Bolin, how did you even know that?” She turned red and pushed the computer away from her. It almost landed on the floor. Beside her, Asami stifled a laugh.
“I may have once accidentally read your diary.” Bolin said sheepishly. Opal shook her head slowly. This was just the trainwreck she had tried to prevent. “I was just trying to help! Look,” he looked at Asami. “Um, sorry do you mind stepping outside? Private conversation.”
Asami laughed. “No, I’ll just wait outside.” She exited the room. Korra raised her eyebrows.
“Okay, I know she’s a robot. Is it weird that I don’t want to hurt her feelings?” Bolin said.
“No, it’s not. What were you thinking?!” Korra asked. “Well, I didn’t actually think it would really appear! I thought it would be like a pet robot dog or something! The webpage was weirdly vague.”
“Why would buying a pet dog require a twenty page application form?!”
“I don’t know!” Bolin threw his hands into the air. “We were tipsy! Look, Future Industries is an established brand, and the SATO robots have a three day trial period. We’re only going to be here for another three days. Just have fun with the bot for three days, and then we’ll return her. It. We’ll return it.” Bolin shivered. “Even saying that sentence makes me feel weird.” Korra glared at the both of them. “I’m sorry?” Bolin tried.
There was silence, then Opal burst into a fit of giggles, rolling on the bed. “This is too funny! But you gotta admit she’s hot.”
Korra spluttered. “No, I’m not into robots! That’s creepy!”
Opal laughed. “That’s not what your eyes say. But anyway, it doesn’t have to be anything. The webpage here says SATO bots were designed to be friendly companions. Might be fun to make a robot friend?”
Korra huffed. “Okay, she stays. But you guys totally owe me dinner.”
“As if you wanted her to go,” Opal said teasingly. Korra opened the door. Asami was leaning against the window, looking at the cars drive past in the street below. “Asami?” She turned, giving Korra that perfect 45 degree view angle of her profile that so many of her friends tried so hard to perfect in photos. With the sunlight coming from the back, she looked angelic and part of Korra just melted.
“Yeah?”
Korra sighed and pinched herself discreetly. “Come on in. We’re discussing what to do today.”